Mr Eklund

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Update Monday June 7, 2010

We made it! What a beautiful drive into San Francisco this morning. The Golden Gate Bridge was crystal clear, dispute being socked in with fog for the buses on the way North. The United flight was pretty full on a 747-400. Big plane with lots of people on board. Most of the kids enjoyed the movie, Alice in Wonderland. We arrived in Chicago early enough that everyone had time to grab a bite to eat despite having to go to another concourse for the connection. Both flights arrived in Washington DC on-time (although at two different airports.) Once again we got the two best tour guides Anne and Karen and both groups met up at the Natural History Museum within 10 minutes of each other.

The Natural History Museum had some great new exhibits. The one on Charles Darwin and Evolution was very interesting but the really cool exhibit was on Bones. It was fascinating. Skeletal remains of humans with all the details of a CSI autopsy even thought they died in Jamestown almost 400 years ago. It was really cool! Next it was on to dinner. After an interesting drive through Alexandria we ate at the Great American Steak and Buffet. This was a new stop for us. The food was not bad, not sure about the atmosphere but the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. After dinner it was back to D.C. where we visited three of the best memorials. First was the Vietnam Memorial which actually has three separate memorials, one for the nurses, one for the soldiers (which was under reconstruction so it was kinda in a box) and the one we are all familiar with, The Wall. The kids were impressed with its size and hopefully understood the impact of those 58,000 names on the wall. From here is a short walk up to the Lincoln Memorial. What a beautiful sight! As it was getting dark looking across the reflecting pool from Lincoln, past the WWII to the Washington Monument and beyond. It is an awe inspiring sight. By the way, the weather couldn't be better. About 80 with relatively low humidity!! One last stop at the Korean War Memorial. Another impressive sight with full size bronze statutes walking through the simulated rice patties!

After a long day, we drop of Anne and Karen, drive through one construction zone after another, take a little cruise out Route 66 (getting our kicks!) and check into our hotel just in time for our 10:30pm bedcheck. Wake up call is at 5:30am for our trip out to Mount Vernon. Its approaching midnight, Jessica Biel is on Dave Letterman and I'll check in with you tomorrow. Thanks........................Mike Eklund

Tuesday June 8, 2010

A long, fun day. Wake up call at 5:30am, breakfast at 6:30am and to Mount Vernon by 8:00am. It was tough getting up early but it saved us hours of waiting in line. There were only a couple groups ahead of us which enabled us to tour George Washington's home before the crowds. What a magnificent home. From a small begiining he turned this place into quite a mansion. The two dining rooms are both painted green, one a VERY bright shade of green. While it looks a bit gaudy by our standards at the time this was the most expensive color and therefore the most impressive to visitors, of which they had over 600 the first year after the General retired as president. We also had a chance to view the film where it snowed inside the theater. What fun.

On to lunch at the Old Country Buffet. I was a bit worried since I had been to another branch of this restaurant previously and it wasn't so hot but this time it was pretty darn good. The food was good, the service was good, and loved the cinnamon rolls. They had three other tour groups show up after us...all of whom had followed us into Mount Vernon. The third group had to wait for us to finish but the restaurant staff did bring them pizza while they waited outside. Nice service but still glad it wasn't us. After lunch it was shopping at Joe's International. I think just about everybody picked up some souvenioers before crossing the street to Ford's Theater. This has changed quite a bit. Now you enter the theater and go straight down to the brand new Lincoln Museum in the basement. This museum is VERY well done. Lot's of neat artifacts and some great films made by the History Channel exclusively for the museum. From the museum its a short trip up to the balcony above the theater where we had a chance to take some excellent photos of the box where Mr. Lincoln was enjoying the film prior to Mr. Booth's attack. Too bad the rangers were not giving a talk today but they were still cleaning up from a performance on Sunday evening by Kelly Clarkson, Lionel Richie and others, and in attendance were the Obama's. From there it was back across the street to Peterson House. This small boarding house is where they carried Mr. Lincoln after the shooting. The doctor had said Mr. Lincoln wouldn't survive the night so they just took him to the closest bed. They didn't know it at the time but they actually placed the president in a bed previously slept in by his killer, John Wilkes Booth.

Back on the bus for the short jaunt over to the Washington Monument. According to Quinten, the ranger operating the elevator, "It takes 70 seconds to reach the top and 3 seconds to drop to the bottom...just kidding! It actually takes almost 3 minutes to come down since there are special blocks on the interior walls to check out along the way." At the top, the view is tremendous! On a beautiful clear day (did I mention the weather has been perfect so far) we could see from the National Cathedral to RFK Stadium to Robert E Lee's home to the Watergate Towers. We could also see the south lawn of the White House where they were setting up for an event (turns out it was for a Congressional Picnic). We could also see that the line for the National Aarchives was pretty short so that became our next stop. Here we saw the originals of the Constitution,, the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights. There was also a new exhibit on records from the Civil War. Like every museum, we could spend days in this place and not come close to seeing it all.

Next its time to try a new restaurant for dinner. Located in a World War II Torpedo factory along the waterfront of Alexandria. A beautiful location with decent food but a limited menu and not quite equipped to handle 89 at once for dinner so I doubt this stop will remain on our go to list. After dinner is was time for us to have our picture taken. All of the kids climbed into Albert Einstein's lap (okay, not really, is was a statue) while parents took pictures with everyones cameras. This took a while. Next it was over to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. This is large memorial featuring a number of outdoor "rooms", each addressing the numerous events occuring during FDR's four terms in office. The memorial was created using large chunks of red granite which is far more than FDR himself wanted. He actually didn't want a memorial at all but knew that wouldn't fly so he specifically asked for a single small marble block. He definitely got more than he wished for. From FDR its a beautiful walk along the tidal basin to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Along the way a lot of our students got a chance to see fireflies for the first time. It was great fun watching them try to get a photo while the firflies happened to be lit up. Our final stop of the evening is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. This great man has a beautiful site complete with a huge statue inside a large domed building. Many of his famous writings are quoted on the surrounding walls.

Tomorrow is another big day...its 1:48 and wake up is a 5:45 so I'll be saying good night. The weather has been perfect but the forecast calls for a 70% chance of rain on Wednesday which would be a real bummer. Keep your fingers crossed.

Wednesday June 9, 2010

Okay, just call me Gumby! Were we ever flexible today. Lots of changes from the original schedule followed by changes to the changes and more changes after that all to make sure we get the most out of each day on our trip. The day started with numerous news reports that it was gonna rain and sure enough it started sprinkling before we even left the hotel parking lot. We were on our way to the Capitol for our 9:00am tour. The ever on the ball Anne had taken my reservation form the night before planning to get to the Capitol early to pick up our tour tickets so we would be ready to go when we arrived at the Capitol. At the same time, the equally impressive Karen was going to pick up our gallery passes from Lynn Woolsey's office across the street from the Capitol. Sounds great so far right? I thought so but then my cell phone started ringing. Anne was stuck on the Metro underneath the river because of a fire in a station further up the line, Karen couldn't meet us when our bus arrived because Ms. Woolsey's office building didn't open until eight thirty. Not a problem for me to lead the kids up myself but not having the paperwork that was with Anne would be a problem. Fortunately, Anne's train was able to back up to the previous station, let everybody off, and Anne hopped into a cab and all three of us arrived at the Capitol tour center about the same time with plenty of time to get our passes. An interesting start to the day.

As of last year there is a brand new visitors center. You start out in a big hall which featured the largest and smallest state statues (every state gets to have two...more on that later). The biggest was King Kamehameha representing that state of Hawaii and the smallest, and newest, featured Helen Keller (I forget what state.) Next we enter a theater that features a beautiful film about this fabulous country and our motto, E Pluribus Unum...From Many, One. After the film we all put on headsets so we could hear the tour guide as we proceded through the building. Our guide this time was probably the best I have experienced. She really knew her stuff and pointed out some of the most interesting details, including the artists' faces hidden on the timeline mural in the Rotunda. She was sure to point out the two California statues, Father Junipero Serra and, new since last year, Ronald Reagan. Pretty cool. After touring the building it got even cooler when we got to sit in the gallery of the House of Representatives and watch as they introduced some bills as well as debated a bill about the rising acid levels in the ocean. Everyone was surprised to see how business was being conducted even though there were hardly any members in the chamber. This visit really brought to life a lot of what the kids learned about in 8th grade history this year...and best of all, the kids understood what was going on. Awesome! For Mr. Raya I think the trip could stop right here but we are just getting warmed up!

Next is the long hike back around the Capitol to have our picture taken on the steps of Grant's Memorial but really looks like we are on the steps of the Capitol. They will send me the photos in one big box in a few weeks. I will send out an email in a few weeks to let you know when you can pick your group photos up at Kenilworth. Back on the bus for the short trip over to Union Station. This is now a large mall with a big food court on the bottom floor as well as a working train station. During lunch we had a medical issue arise but everyone is fine and everything worked out okay. Next stop was a new museum for us, the Crime and Punishment Museum. As with any new stop its hard to judge how much time to spend at each site. Sometimes we alot too much time because the site isn't as exciting as we had hoped. That was not the case here! This museum is definitely a keeper and like many of the museums, you could spend the entire day exploring all it has to offer.

Next its on to the White House.....................and I am gonna finish this on Thursday since it is now 12:36 and I can barely keep my eyes open......wake up call 5:30am with a trip out to Gettysburg/Harpers Ferry/Antitiem.

................................. Okay....good morning! Now, where were we....oh, yeah, the White House. We received word that the Twilight Tattoo has been cancelled due to weather so its time to start juggling the schedule. Tony (our amazing bus driver) let's us out at Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House even though he is really supposed to drop us off around on the other side of the White House which would mean a looooooong walk. Yeah! Good thing too, because when we get to the front of the White House it starts raining pretty good. Most of the kids took a couple of pictures and immediately started back towards the bus so we didn't have about half the group for a photo of us all in front of the White House. If we have time, we will try to come back for a group shot on Friday. Its not supposed to rain again until Saturday. Since it is now raining pretty good we change things up to do inside tours and head over to the Holocaust Museum. We go through the kids portion of the museum, an experience called Daniel's Story. This exhibit takes you through the life of a Jewish boy from the time the Nazi's start to gain power through the end of World War II. It is an accurate portrayal without being too graphic. Very well done and I think the kids really took this visit to heart. Many of us also went downstairs to see a fantastic exhibit on propaganda and the Nazi propaganda machine. Very impressive and very scary, especially when you stopped to consider how it wouldn't be all that difficult to manipulate the media still today.

Next its is on to the Smithsonian American History Museum. Unfortunately every other tour group has changed their plans to stay out of the rain as well. The place is very crowded. Despite the crowd, wow, is this place amazing. Some of the highlights are Michelle Obama's gown from the Inaguration evening, the original Kermit the Frog, one of the original flying Dumbo's from Disneyland, a very well done exhibit tracing America at War tracing our military experiences from the Revoltution through the current conflicts in the Afghanistan and Iraq. There was even a couple hunks of the Berlin Wall. There was also a cool new exhibit tracing the history of the Apollo Theater in New York an its impact on music. Time to change plans again. Instead of going to the Reagan trade center for dinner, we instead headed over to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the Mall. Even though you could tell the kids are getting tired they appeared re-energized in this museum. Lots of aviation related things to see here, including Russian space toilets, the front end of a Boeing 747 you could go in and check out, a chance to try and land the Space Shuttle, standing on the deck during a carrier landing, an Apollo space capsule that had been around the moon, an actual moon rock you could touch, and even a new model of the Hindenburg (not full size of course.)

We had hoped to add that great ice cream store this evening but alas, they seem to have fallen victim to the economic conditions and are no longer around. Bummer, their ice cream was fabulous. Instead, tonights dinner is at the Pentagon City Mall. This is a regulr upscale mall (actually owned by the same people who own the Santa Rosa Plaza) with a large food court. The kids had many choices, including Haagen Daz Ice Cream if they wanted. After dinner and a little shopping its back to the hotel. Bed check was a little bit earlier (10:00pm) since the kids are obviously in need of a bit more rest. Funny, staying up late starts to catch up with you really quick when you are up early and on the go allday long. By the way, I heard the kids ran into some friends from Petaluma Junior High today and discovered the PJHS group didn't get to Mount Vernon early like we did and had to wait in line for hours to tour the home. It was nice to hear our kids say how grateful they were I got them up early to avoid wasting half our day in lines.

Sorry this update is a few hours late. I guess I'm getting old enough that 3 to 4 hours sleep a night just ain't quite enough. Last night after getting the kids back to the hotel I had to take a cab to a drug store to get a prescription filled and buy Off bug spray for today's visit to Gettysburg/Harper's Ferry/Antietam. We heard there is a big tick problem this year so we are taking every precaution possible (long pants, bug spray, stay on the roads and paths, etc.) Until this evening, hope your day is a fun as our have been. ................... Mike Eklund

Thursday June 10, 2010

***Sorry this is late *** no internet available late night ***

Another great day in paradise although its a bit warmer and more humid. Today is our road trip day. First stop Gettysburg. They had a new visitors center that had partially opened last time but we really had a chance to experience it for the first time today. Started off with a little shopping in the gift show then into the theater for a great film about the battle. The film was narrated by Morgan Freeman and was extremely well done. Too bad they don't sell a copy to use in class. After the film, its upstairs to the restored Cyclerama which is a 360 degree painting of the scene of the battle. Even though its a painting it is almost like watching a movie through the use of lights and sound. Really cool! The new museum has all kinds of interesting displays concerning the battle, the town, the war and even a great section on Abraham Lincoln. As with all the museums you can spend hours in this place looking at everything there is to see. Back on the buses with our own personal Gettysburg experts we take a tour around the entire battlefield. The guides this year were fantastic. They each had so many stories that you just don't see/hear anywhere else. Simply fabulous. Due to the risk of ticks we did not re-enact Picketts Charge but we did pretend to load and shoot a cannon instead. Very fun.

After touring our way around the battlefield its time for a wonderful lunch at Dobbin House. This historic building once held a stop in the Underground Railroad. Today its a fancy dinner restaurant which opens just for groups like our for lunch. Salad, Soup, BBQ Chicken, Pasta and the fixin's for ham and turkey sandwiches. Sounds pretty simple but very tasty in a very quiant old world atmosphere. Love this stop before heading down to Harper's Ferry. The town of Harper's Ferry is now run by the park service and is set up to look just like it would have looked in 1860. When you enter the town storefronts you enter the shops of yesteryear (like the dry goods store, a boarding house, gun manufacturer, etc.) or museums. Very true to life representation and just about everyone discovered the ice cream store!

Our third stop on the road trip was the Antietam Battlefield. The battlefield was way of the main highway but Tony and Thomas did a great job manuevering the big ole buses through a series of small towns. (that right turn in Shepardstown was a bit hairy!) Antietam was the site of the single bloodiest day in our nation's history, Fortunately we had our own Civil War Expert Carl along for the trip. He was gracious enough to offer an explanation of each of the three main locations of the battle that we choose to stop and see, the cornfield, the sunken road (also known as the Bloody Lane) and Burnsides Bridge. This was our first visit at this site and for those of us interested in the Civil War it was hard to leave. So hard that we were running an hour late for our dinner appointment back in Tysons Corner, Virginia. No problem. Fuddruckers are ready for us! What tasty burgers. Everybody loved them!!!! After a long, great day its back to the hotel, early bed checks to pack and hopefully get some rest before our last day in D.C. .....Of course when I finally sat down to write this for the third time at 12:45am the internet wasn't working so....sorry this is late

Friday June 11, 2010

Friday  June 11, 2010

Friday, our last day already.  What a great week we hve had and there’s still a packed day today and its gonna be a warm and humid one.  The day starts by meeting Karen and Anne at the gates to Arlington National Cemetery.  In what was Robert E. Lee’s front yard there are now 100.000’s of thousands of American soldiers buried.  The changing of the guard was amazing! So precise and inspiring, it is hard not to shed a tear during the exchange. From here we had a seat in the amphitheater (in the shade) before heading over to visit some of the more prominent graves such as Audie Murphy, The Challenger and Columbia Memorials, the Kennedys (JFK,RFK, and Teddy), as well as the battleship Maine.  Rather than walk all the way across the cemetery, we stroll down the hill to the bus for the short ride over to the Marine Corps Memorial. This extremely large bronze sculpture depicts the rasing of the American Flag on Mt. Sarabachi  on Iwo Jima during World War II. Pretty cool optical illusion here. As we ride the bus around the statute it appears as if the flag is actually raising even though we know it is really stationary.

From here its back across the Memorial Bridge into Washington D.C. to the World War II Memorial. Thanks to Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg for helping get this monument built. Located between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument the Memorial has all kinds of symbolism representing  both the Atlantic and Pacific Theatres of the War. One of the impressive sights is the 400 gold stars on the wall where each start represents 1,ooo American Soldiers who gave their lives during the war.  Next up, lunch at the Ronald Reagan Trade Center, an office building so big they have their own food court at the bottom. After lunch there is time for one more stop so we pick a new one, the Native American Indian Museum.  While one group races up to the top floor to check out the film presentation the other group  has a little time to spare and takes a more leisurely tour of the museum. The film (actually it’s a bit more than a film with screens in the center as well as another presentation projected onto the doomed ceiling) is okay . The best part is the music and dance towards the end and with that we have reached the end of our journey. Group one says goodbye to Anne and heads towards Baltimore Airport. Group two says goodbye to Karen, spends a bit more time in the American Indian Museum before a stop at the Udvar-Hazy extension of the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport.

Thanks again for sending your kids along on this amazing journey. I hope they enjoyed themselves and learned something as well.  They are gonna be really tired  and may have a hard time remembering all they did so you may want to print this out so you can refer to it to help jog their memories a bit when you want to hear more details about their adventures.  I passed along thank you notes and tips to our guides (Anne and Karen) and to our drivers (Tony and Thomas).  If there is someone else your child think I need to thank or if they would like to send along a personal note, please let me know. I’ll be happy to pass it along.  The group photo’s we took in front of the Capitol should arrive in a couple of weeks. I’ll send a Newsflash to let you know where and when you can pick them up.  Thanks again.  Mike Eklund